Abstract

Understanding how cumulative health risks increase over time constitutes an important part of decisionmaking about treatment risks and benefits. In this study, wide ranging perceptions of cumulative risk led tosignificant overestimation and underestimation of risks over time. Time has shown to significantly impacton the personal interpretation of cumulative risk information by patients, with many subjects struggling tounderstand the concept of cumulative risks. This suggests that a careful explanation of the effect ofcumulative risk over time to patients should contribute to more effective decision making.